Faith That Stayed

There was a man who visited Sai Baba often, yet he was never fully at peace.

On some days, he would sit quietly near Baba, feeling a deep sense of devotion.

But by the time he returned home, his mind would begin its usual work—raising questions, doubts, and small fears. This troubled him more than anything else.

One afternoon, when the crowd had thinned, he went near Baba and sat down.

“Baba,” he said after a while, “why does my faith not remain steady? It comes… and then it goes.”

Baba did not reply immediately.

He picked up a small vessel of water kept beside him and gently stirred it with his fingers. The surface broke into tiny ripples.

“Look at this,” Baba said.

The man leaned forward.

“Can you see your face in it now?”

The man shook his head.

Baba placed the vessel down and left it undisturbed. They sat there for a few moments without speaking. Slowly, the ripples faded. The water became still again.

“Now look,” Baba said.

The man saw his reflection clearly. Baba smiled faintly.

“The water has not changed,” he said. “It was only disturbed.”

The man understood.

It was not his faith that was coming and going. 

It was his mind that would not remain quiet.

From that day, he did not worry about faith anymore.

He began, instead, to sit a little more quietly.

Moral

Faith becomes clear when the mind becomes still.

What we seek is often already within us only hidden by the movement of our own thoughts.